An Inside Look at How Our New Online ‘Green’ Programs Were Planted

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Jennifer Brady

UMassOnline Jennifer Brady Not much is written about how a new online course gets forged. But students would probably be impressed to know how much research goes into defining the opportunities and developing courses that reflect future career opportunities and personal growth. Thanks to a publication called What’s News Online, which is the work of Rhode Island College, two of the people at UMass who were most responsible for the development of newly announced online Green courses, are featured in this article by staff writer Gita Brown entitled, “Higher Ed Prepares for Green-Collar Workforce.”

There is much information in the full text about green courses and job opportunities that you’ll want to read in full if this is an educational and/or career interest of yours. But on the specific subject of how UMass tackled the development of these online programs, Ms. Brown writes:

On Nov. 17 and 18, the Office of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions hosted a webcast conference titled “Techniques for Developing Green Jobs Programs,” where Susan Jennings of UMass (Amherst) and Victoria Matthew of UMass (Dartmouth) presented research and a road map for the development of “green” programs and curricula at higher ed institutions… UMass launched its green programs at two different take-off points: market research and community-based partnerships…

At the Amherst campus, Jennings, who is director of the Office of Campus and Community Sustainability, focused on market research. She put together a team of faculty members who have a passion for environmental issues. Using the “Google trends” search engine, her team examined local and national trends. They interviewed experts in higher ed and in the private sector who were running successful or start-up green programs. And they looked at employment websites, such as monster.com, and specialized green boards for the qualifications and skills required for green jobs. Finally, they examined existing course offerings at UMass to determine which courses would fit into a sustainability program.

At the sister campus in Dartmouth, Matthew’s focus was on community-based partnerships. As director of Program Development in the Continuing and Professional Education Division, Matthew connected UMass student interns with an agency called the Sustainability Center where they engaged in green building under the leadership of a local contractor.

“It’s important to build partnerships and programs off campus and look at how your college can tie in the needs of the community with college offerings,” Matthew said. “To put together a green program, colleges and universities are going to need both campus and community members working together.”